The spiral spin state in a zigzag spin chain system

We considered a spin chain with nearest neighbor and next nearest neighbor exchange interactions, anisotropic exchange interaction and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. The conditions of the spiral spin state as the ground state were analyzed. Our method was to build the connection between the spiral state and the fully polarized state with a unitary transformation. Under this transformation, anisotropic exchange interaction and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction can be transformed to each other. Then we used positive semi-definite matrix theorem to identify the region of fully polarized state as the ground state for the transformed Hamiltonian, and it is the region of spiral spin state as the ground state of the original Hamiltonian. We also found that the effect of Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction is important. Its strength is related to the pitch angle of spiral spins. Our method can be applied to coupled spin chains and two dimensional triangular lattice systems. The result can be compared with experiment data.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figure

Fiscal spending and green economic growth: fresh evidence from high polluted Asian economies

Green growth is deliberated as an effective way for attaining environmental sustainability, but the nexus between fiscal spending and green growth is ignored in highly polluted Asian economies. To fill this gap, this study attempts to investigate the impact of public sector education and research and development expenditures on green economic growth for selected Asian economies for the period 1991–2019. The study employed FMOLS and DOLS methods to assess the association between public expenditures on education and research and development sectors and green economic growth. The study found that education and research and development expenditures both contribute significantly to enhancing green economic growth in most of the selected Asian economies. The study proposed some important policy implications for fostering green economic growth and environmental sustainability by mitigation of pollution emissions

TRIM 16 gene expression regulates the growth and metastasis of human esophageal cancer

Purpose: To investigate the effect of tripartite membrane protein  TRIM) 16 gene silencing on human esophageal cancer (KYSE-270) cell proliferation, invasion and metastasis.Methods: Short interfering RNA (siRNA) TRIM 16 silencing fragment was transfected into KYSE-270 cells. Transfection efficiency was determined using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Cell proliferation, invasiveness and migration were measured by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol2-yl)- 2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, Transwell invasion assay, and scratch test, respectively. Protein expressions of bax and bcl-2 were assayed using Western blotting.Results: The gene expression of TRIM 16 was significantly upregulated in esophageal cancer cells, relative to normal human esophageal cells, but was downregulated after gene silencing. Moreover, the silencing of TRIM 16 gene led to significant reductions in KYSE-270 cell viability, migration and invasiveness, but significantly increased KYSE270 cell apoptosis (p < 0.05). The silencing of TRIM 16 gene also significantly upregulated bax protein expression, while downregulating the expression of bcl-2 protein (p < 0.05).Conclusion: These results suggest that TRIM 16 gene silencing inhibits KYSE-270 cell proliferation, invasion and metastasis, and thus provide a basis for its development as a therapeutic approach for the management of esophageal cancer. Keywords: Apoptosis, Cell invasion, Esophageal cancer, Gene silencing, Metastasi

Roots play a key role in drought-tolerance of poplars as suggested by reciprocal grafting between male and female clones

Drought stress influences the growth of plants and thus grafting has been widely used to improve tolerance to abiotic stresses. Poplars possess sex-specific responses to drought stress, but how male or female rootstock affect the grafted plant is little known. To explore the mechanisms underlying changes in drought tolerance caused by grafting, we investigated the changes in growth, leaf traits, gas exchange and antioxidant enzyme activities of reciprocally grafted seedlings between Populus euramericana cv. "Nanlin895" (NL-895) (female) and Populus deltiodes cv."3412" (NL-3412) (male) under water deficit stress with 30% field capacity for 30 d. Results showed that drought stress affected adversely growth, morphological, and physiological characteristics in all seedlings studied. Grafted seedlings with male roots can effectively alleviated the inhibition of growth induced by drought stress, as shown by higher WUE, activities of SOD, POD and CAT, and lower levels of lipid peroxidation. Male seedlings with female roots were found to be less tolerance to drought than non-grafted male clones and female scions with male roots, but more tolerance than non-grafted female clones. This results suggested that drought tolerance of grafted seedlings is primarily caused by the rootstock, although the scion also affects the grafted plant. Thus, paying attention on the root genotype can provide an important means of improving the drought tolerance of poplars.Peer reviewe

Simultaneous determination of eight major bioactive compounds in Dachengqi Tang (DT) by high-performance liquid chromatography

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Dachengqi Tang </it>(DT) is a common traditional Chinese medicine formula for expelling <it>neire </it>('internal heat') in the stomach and intestines. There was no reliable analytical method available for the quality control of DT.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method with a reverse phase C₁₈column (150 × 4.6 mm) was developed. The mobile phase was methanol with 0.2% acetic acid. Eight markers including naringin, hesperidin, aloe emodin, rhein, honokiol, magnolol, emodin and chrysophanol were determined.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Regression analysis revealed a linear relationship between the concentrations of the markers and the peak area ratio of the standards and internal standard. The limit of detection (S/N = 3) and the limit of qualification (RSD < 20%) ranged from 0.21 to 0.43 ng/μl and 0.76 to 1.74 ng/μl respectively. The recovery was between 95.6% and 103.4%. The tests on the samples from three batches of DT showed that the profiles of the markers did not vary significantly among batches.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A reliable HPLC method for simultaneous determination of the eight markers in DT was developed.</p

Application and Safety Evaluation of Integrated TCM-WM in the Treatment of COVID-19

Introduction: With the emergence of more infectious mutant strains and the appearance of new crown sequelae, early precise treatment is particularly important. The traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine (TCM-WM) treatment plan exhibits unique superiority in the COVID-19 treatment, but the efficacy and safety have not been fully elucidated. Methods: A analysis of the clinical characteristics of 7 COVID-19 patients diagnosed in our hospital, as well as the results of precise individual intervention treatment with TCM-WM, including laboratory examination, and CT changes of imaging. Results: On admission, laboratory results showed that 7 patients' overall Lymphocyte count (LYM#), Percent Lymphocytes (LYM %), and Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were reduced, but Neutrophil percentage (NEU%) were increased. CT imaging showed that most patients had multiple patchy shadows and ground-glass shadows in both lungs. After TCM-WM treatment, the above pathological states were significantly improved. All patients were followed up and had a good prognosis. Conclusions: Accurate therapy with TCM-WM can quickly and effectively alleviate and treat patients with COVID-19, without severe Long Covid

Mark ratio modulation over pulse position modulation

Orthogonal modulation superimposes non-amplitude-modulated signals on Manchester coded or pulse position modulated amplitude shift keying (ASK) signals, allowing two traffic flows with different bit rates to be modulated on the same wavelength channel, and hence improving spectrum efficiency. Inspired by the orthogonal modulation, this paper proposes a novel modulation format, i.e., mark ratio modulation over pulse position modulation (PPM), which utilizes the mark ratio difference between the PPM symbols and the inverse PPM symbols to deliver an overlaid signal. Better than traditional orthogonal modulation, in the mark ratio modulation over PPM, both low-speed and high-speed traffic flows are modulated by ASK with no need to sacrifice the extinction ratio, while keeping the reception simple and easy. According to theoretical analysis and test, we found 4PPM is a good option, which can balance the trade-off between the PPM signal\u27s effective bit rate and the mark ratio modulated signal\u27s quality

Nitrogen addition affects eco-physiological interactions between two tree species dominating in subtropical forests

Nitrogen (N) deposition affects plant growth and interspecific interaction. This study aimed to explore the effect of N deposition on the growth and eco-physiological interactions between two tree species dominating in subtropical forests. A greenhouse experiment was conducted for 6 months in which the conifer Cunninghamia lanceolata and the broadleaved Phoebe chekiangensis were grown in monocultures and in a mixture under two levels of N addition: 0 and 45 kg ha(-1) yr(-1). The plant growth, root architecture, biomass distribution, element contents in plants and soil, and photosynthetic physiology were determined. The height and crown width of both seedlings tended to be higher in the mixture than in the monoculture when grown without N addition. P. chekiangensis was superior to C. lanceolata in resource acquisition and showed a greater net photosynthetic rate, plant height, crown width, total biomass, and belowground biomass distribution. In the mixture, N addition increased the net photosynthetic rate and decreased the height, ground diameter, and crown width of both species. Belowground biomass distribution was decreased in C. lanceolata but increased in P. chekiangensis under N addition. The P contents in both seedlings were higher in the mixture than in monocultures. Results showed N addition aggravated the competition and weakened the growth of both species in the mixture, largely determined by the competition for resources through the changing root architecture and biomass allocation. Our results provide new insights into the mechanisms of interspecific interaction in response to increasing N deposition in silvicultural practice.Peer reviewe